SCHEDULE OF EXHIBITIONS SEPTEMBER - DECEMBER 2007

The Age of Rembrandt: Dutch Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art
September 18, 2007–January 6, 2008

The Metropolitan Museum is home to the finest collection of Dutch art outside of Europe—including 20 works by Rembrandt himself—and all 228 of these masterpieces are displayed together for the first time in this major special exhibition. The exhibition, which coincides with the publication of the first comprehensive catalogue of the collection, also commemorates Rembrandt's 400th birthday. On view is a rich array of works dating mostly between 1600 and 1700—landscapes, genre pictures, still lifes, marine views, portraiture, and historical and biblical paintings—by Rembrandt and other celebrated Dutch masters such as Frans Hals, Johannes Vermeer, Gerard ter Borch, Pieter de Hooch, Jacob van Ruisdael, and Aelbert Cuyp. Broadly outlining how the collection was formed, the exhibition reflects the taste for Dutch art in America and among New York's great collectors of the past two centuries. The exhibition is made possible by Accenture.
The publication is made possible by Hata Stichting Foundation and
Mr. and Mrs. M.E. Zukerman.
Additional support is provided by the Kowitz Family Foundation and
The Christian Humann Foundation.
Accompanied by a catalogue and a publication.
Press preview: Monday, September 10, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Bridging East and West: The Chinese Diaspora and Lin Yutang
September 15, 2007–February 10, 2008

Featured are gifts and promised gifts to the permanent collection from the family of Lin Yutang (1895–1976), one of the most important interpreters of Chinese culture to Western audiences. Comprising 43 paintings and calligraphies by 19 leading Chinese artists of the mid-20th century, this donation significantly enhances the Museum's ability to illustrate the continued vitality of China's traditional arts in modern times. Forty additional masterworks in the Museum's collection acquired from other members of the Chinese diaspora demonstrate how significantly this community has contributed to the Metropolitan's holdings in this area. The publication and the related exhibition are made possible by The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Foundation.

Abstract Expressionism and Other Modern Works:
The Muriel Kallis Steinberg Newman Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art
September 18, 2007–February 3, 2008

This exhibition presents a selection of paintings, sculpture, and drawings from The Muriel Kallis Steinberg Newman Collection, which was given to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2006. Formed primarily in the early 1950s, it has long been recognized as one of the preeminent collections of Abstract Expressionist art in the country and includes major canvases by Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko. Also featured are works by slightly younger American artists working in the early 1960s such as Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, and Claes Oldenburg, as well as select paintings and sculpture by European modernists Hans Arp, Alberto Giacometti, Fernand Léger, and Joan Miró. The catalogue is made possible by the Blanche and A.L. Levine Fund and the Mary C. and James W. Fosburgh Publications Fund.
Press preview: Monday, September 17, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Impressed by Light: British Photographs from Paper Negatives, 1840–1860
September 25–December 30, 2007

This exhibition is the first to explore the opening decades of paper photography in the country of its birth, focusing exclusively on photographs printed from negatives of fine writing paper. This early process—replaced almost entirely by glass negatives by 1860—was favored especially by men of learning and leisure who not only accepted but also appreciated the medium's tendency to soften details and mass light and shadow in a self-consciously artistic way. At home, their most frequent subjects—ancient oaks, rocky landscapes, ruined castles and abbeys, gatherings of friends and family—provided an antidote to the ills of modern, industrialized society; abroad, they were drawn to the glories of past civilizations manifest in Roman ruins, medieval churches, or Indian temples. Nearly 120 works by 40 artists have been assembled from 27 private and public collections; most are being exhibited in the United States for the first time.
The exhibition is made possible by The Hite Foundation.
The catalogue is made possible by Howard Stein.
Additional support is provided by the Mary C. and James W. Fosburgh Publications Fund and the Roswell L. Gilpatric Publications Fund.
The catalogue is published with the assistance of The Getty Foundation.
The exhibition was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the National Gallery of Art, Washington.
Press preview: Monday, September 24, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Eternal Ancestors: The Art of the Central African Reliquary
October 2, 2007–March 2, 2008

This exhibition presents some of the most celebrated creations of African masters in a new light. Many were muses to members of the Western avant-garde, who collected and closely studied these works for their inventive aesthetic qualities in their studios during the early 20th century. In light of their role in altering the course of Western art, the works are among the most influential masterpieces of the African artistic canon. This exhibition addresses the sensation these now-classic works, which were appreciated for their beauty alone for over a century, generated among the earliest generation of African art amateurs. But beyond that, it reveals the significance of these works to their cultures of origin by revealing the underlying sources of cultural and spiritual inspiration that led to their creation in equatorial Africa. Drawn from the most important collections of African art in Europe and the United States, the more than 150 works featured are from a dozen distinct cultural traditions in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of Congo, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These sculptural masterpieces, which ultimately transcended their original cultural contexts to enter the mainstream of universal art, were created to portray ancestors as vital intermediaries. Through a range of different visual vocabularies and materials, this is demonstrated in dynamic depictions of the human form conceived to enhance, venerate, and amplify the power of sacred relics. The exhibition provides a foundation for greater appreciation of central Africa's cultural legacy and the relationship of its art to other major traditions from around the world. Since sacred relics have served as the catalysts for some of the most exalted and revered creations in the history of Western, Eastern, and African civilizations, the exhibition considers reliquaries from other world cultures alongside those produced in Africa, drawing upon related works from the Metropolitan Museum's Asian, Medieval, and Photographs Departments.
The exhibition is made possible in part by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.
The catalogue is made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the
Doris Duke Fund for Publications.
Press preview: Monday, October 1, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Gifts for the Gods: Images from Egyptian Temples
October 16, 2007–February 18, 2008

Throughout their long history, the ancient Egyptians used copper, bronze, gold, and silver to create lustrous, graceful statuary. Most characteristically, these works stood at the crux of their interactions with their gods, from ritual dramas that took place within the temples and chapels that dotted the landscape, to the festival processions through the towns and countryside that were thronged by believers. This is the first exhibition to focus on the art and significance of Egyptian metal statuary and marshals fresh insights to present a new understanding of this type of statuary, the influences that acted upon it, and its meaning. On view from domestic and international collections are some 70 superb statues and statuettes created in precious metals and copper alloys over more than two millennia, including several of the extremely rare inlaid and decorated large bronzes, between two and three-and-a-half feet tall, from the first half of the first millennium, the so-called Third Intermediate Period (1070–664 B.C.), which represents the apogee of Egyptian metalwork.
The exhibition is made possible by Orascom Hotels and Development.
The catalogue is made possible by The Adelaide Milton de Groot Fund, in memory of
the de Groot and Hawley families.
Additional support is provided by the Lila Acheson Wallace Fund.
The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts
and the Humanities.
Press preview: Monday, October 15, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Tapestry in the Baroque: Threads of Splendor
October 17, 2007–January 6, 2008

Conceived as a sequel to Tapestry in the Renaissance: Art and Magnificence (spring 2002), this international loan exhibition is the first comprehensive survey of high-quality 17th-century European tapestry. Drawing from collections in more than 15 countries, it presents 40 rare tapestries made in Brussels, Delft, Florence, London, Munich, Paris, and Rome between 1590 and 1720, along with approximately 25 drawings, engravings, and oil sketches. From the Middle Ages until the late 18th century, the courts of Europe lavished vast resources on tapestries made of precious materials after designs by the leading artists of the day. Yet this spectacular medium is frequently misrepresented in modern times as a decorative art of lesser importance. Tapestry in the Baroque challenges this notion, demonstrating that tapestry remained among the most prestigious figurative mediums throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries, prized by the rich for its artistry and as a tool of propaganda. The exhibition investigates the stylistic and technical development of tapestry during the 17th century and the contributions of artists such as Peter Paul Rubens, Jacob Jordaens, Simon Vouet, Charles Le Brun, Pietro da Cortona, and Giovanni Romanelli, as they responded to the challenges of the medium in unique and spectacular ways.
The exhibition is made possible by the Hochberg Foundation Trust and the
Gail and Parker Gilbert Fund.
Corporate support is provided by Fortis.
The exhibition is also made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the
Society of Friends of Belgium in America, and the Flemish Government.
The catalogue is made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the
Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation, Inc., and the Doris Duke Fund for Publications.
The exhibition was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,
with the generous participation of the Patrimonio Nacional, Madrid.
It is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
Press preview: Monday, October 15, 10:00 a.m.–noon

The Gates of Paradise: Lorenzo Ghiberti's Renaissance Masterpiece
October 30, 2007–January 13, 2008

After more than 25 years, the conservation of Lorenzo Ghiberti's doors for the Baptistery in Florence—called the Gates of Paradise—now in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, is nearing completion. This exhibition provides the American public with an unprecedented opportunity to see three of the doors' famous narrative reliefs, with their masterful retelling of Old Testament subjects, as well as four figural sections from their opulent surrounding frames, before they are permanently installed in the museum. The panels and elements from the doorframe—two of its supremely elegant figures of prophets and two finely modeled heads set in roundels—represent the sculptor's intense involvement in this project, a seminal monument of the Italian Renaissance, during the 27 years (1425–52) of its creation.
The exhibition is made possible by Mr. and Mrs. Frank Richardson.
Additional support is provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the
Oceanic Heritage Foundation.
The exhibition was organized by the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, in collaboration with the
Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore and the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence.
It is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities and by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Accompanied by a catalogue.
Press preview: Monday, October 29, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Silversmiths to the Nation: Thomas Fletcher and Sidney Gardiner, 1808–1842
November 20, 2007–May 4, 2008

The silversmithing firm established in Boston in 1808 by Thomas Fletcher and Sidney Gardiner, and relocated to Philadelphia three years later, produced silver of unprecedented quality and grandeur. This exhibition is the first devoted entirely to their work and its role in commemorating the young Republic's pride as a nation. It features monumental vessels that celebrate naval and civic heroes as well as domestic and personal items, all of which display sophisticated design and skilled manufacture. The grand scale and patriotic imagery that characterize much of their work reflect the country's coming of age as a commercial, industrial, political, and artistic center. English and Continental models provide background and context for the American achievements. In addition, an extremely rare group of surviving drawings belonging to the Metropolitan Museum illuminates the creative process. The exhibition is made possible by Alamo Rent A Car, Inc.
The catalogue is made possible in part by the William Cullen Bryant Fellows.
The exhibition was organized by Winterthur Museum and Country Estate.
Press preview: Monday, November 19, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Tara Donovan at the Met
November 20, 2007–April 27, 2008

New York–based artist Tara Donovan (American, b. 1969) is known for working with singular, commonplace manufactured materials such as tape, Styrofoam cups, or drinking straws to create abstract sculptural installations that often take on a biomorphic feel or resemble topographical landscapes. For a new work conceived specifically for this exhibition, the artist will use Mylar tape to create a wall-mounted installation that encompasses the entire gallery. Through a vast accumulation of webs of metallic loops, laboriously assembled, Donovan will transform the space into a unique phenomenological experience for the viewer. This exhibition is the fourth in the Met's ongoing series of solo exhibitions of contemporary artists, which has featured Tony Oursler (2005), Kara Walker (2006), and Neo Rauch (2007).
Press preview: Monday, November 19, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Annual Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche
November 20, 2007–January 6, 2008

The Museum continues a long-standing holiday tradition with the annual presentation of its Christmas tree, a favorite of New Yorkers and visitors from around the world. A vivid 18th-century Neapolitan Nativity scene—embellished with a profuse array of diminutive, lifelike attendant figures and silk-robed angels hovering above—adorns the candlelit spruce. Recorded music and lighting ceremonies add to the enjoyment of the holiday display. The exhibit of the crèche is made possible by gifts to The Christmas Tree Fund and the Loretta Hines Howard Fund.

blog.mode: addressing fashion
December 18, 2007–April 13, 2008

As a living art form, fashion is open to multiple readings. A vibrant reflection of contemporary culture, fashion—especially in its most avant-garde expressions—affects us through its intense visual impact. blog.mode: addressing fashion is the first in a series of shows designed to promote critical and creative dialogues about fashion. The exhibition presents some 40 costumes and accessories dating from the 18th century to the present-—all recent Metropolitan Museum acquisitions—and invites visitors to share their reactions via a blog on the Museum's website.
The exhibition is made possible by Manolo Blahnik.
Press preview: Monday, December 17, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Lee Friedlander: A Ramble in Olmsted Parks
January 22–May 11, 2008

This exhibition will feature approximately 40 photographs made by Lee Friedlander (b. 1934) in the public parks and private estates designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903), North America's premier landscape architect. The show celebrates the complex, idiosyncratic picture-making of one of the country's greatest living photographers. It also marks the 150th anniversary of the design (1858) for Olmsted's masterpiece, New York's Central Park. Rambling with intent across bridges and through the parks' open meadows and dense understory, Friedlander finds pure pleasure in Olmsted's landscapes—in the meticulous stonework, in the careful balance of sun and shade, and in the mature, weather-beaten trees and their youthful issue.

Jasper Johns: Gray
February 5–May 4, 2008

The exhibition will examine the use of the color gray by the American artist Jasper Johns (b. 1930) between the mid-1950s and the present, bringing together more than 130 paintings, reliefs, drawings, prints, and sculptures from American and international collections. Johns has worked in gray, at times to evoke a mood, at other times to evoke an intellectual rigor that results from his purging most color from his works. This exhibition will be the first to focus on this important thematic and formal thread in Johns's career and will include some of the artist's best-known works, such as Tennyson, Device, Liar, 0 through 9, and The Dutch Wives, as well as works from the artist's Catenary series and new paintings never before exhibited. The exhibition is made possible by United Technologies Corporation.
It was organized by The Art Institute of Chicago, in cooperation with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
The exhibition is supported by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Accompanied by a catalogue.
Press preview: Monday, February 4, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Poussin and Nature: Arcadian Visions
February 12–May 11, 2008

Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665) painted some of the most beautiful as well as influential landscapes in Western art. In them, nature is viewed "through the glass of time" and is endowed with a poetic quality that has been admired by painters as different as Corot, Constable, Turner, and Cézanne. This will be the first exhibition to examine the landscapes of this great painter. It will bring together about 40 paintings, ranging from his early, lyrical, Venetian-inspired pastorals to his grandly structured and austere works in which the artist meditated upon Nature, its transformations and its renewals. There will also be approximately 60 drawings, the most luminous of which were done en plein air. The exhibition is made possible by The Florence Gould Foundation and
The Isaacson-Draper Foundation.
It was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the
Museo de Bellas Artes, Bilbao, Spain.
Accompanied by a catalogue.
Press preview: Monday, February 11, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Gustave Courbet
February 27–May 18, 2008

This will be the first full retrospective of the French artist Gustave Courbet (1819–1877) in 30 years, presenting some 100 works by a pioneering figure in the history of modernism. A selection of 19th-century photographs included in the exhibition will reveal the influence of photography on Courbet's oeuvre. The works are drawn from public and private collections in the U.S. and abroad.
The exhibition is made possible in part by the Janice H. Levin Fund.
The exhibition was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Réunion
des musées nationaux and the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, and the Musée Fabre, Montpellier.
Accompanied by a catalogue.
Press preview: Monday, February 25, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Radiance from the Rain Forest: Featherwork in Ancient Peru
February 26–September 1, 2008

In the Andean regions of ancient South America, the brilliantly colored feathers of Amazonian birds were a luxury that was much treasured and long used. From the third millennium B.C. onward, feathers served various ceremonial and secular purposes throughout pre-conquest Peruvian history. Radiant blues, yellows, reds, and greens embellished high-status apparel and accessories such as ear ornaments, pectorals, fans, headdresses, and miniature ritual offerings in silver and cloth. Examples of them, drawn from public and private collections and the Museum's own holdings, will be on view.

The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden
Early May–late October 2008 (weather permitting)

An installation of modern works set in the most dramatic outdoor space for sculpture in New York City: The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden, which offers a spectacular view of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline. Beverage and sandwich service will be available from 10:00 a.m. until closing, including Friday and Saturday evenings.

Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy May 7–September 1, 2008

This exhibition will explore the symbolic and metaphorical associations between fashion and the superhero. Featuring movie costumes, avant-garde haute couture, and high-performance sportswear, it will reveal how the superhero serves as the ultimate metaphor for fashion and its ability to empower and transform the human body. Objects will be organized thematically around particular superheroes, whose movie costumes and superpowers will be catalysts for the discussion of key concepts of superheroism and their expression in fashion.
The exhibition and its accompanying book are made possible by Giorgio Armani.
Additional support is provided by Condé Nast.
Press preview: Monday, May 5, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

Medieval and Renaissance Treasures from the Victoria and Albert Museum
May 20–August 17, 2008

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has one of the world's finest collections of European decorative arts. As the institution undergoes extensive renovations, it provides a rare opportunity for the museum to loan some of its precious works. On display at the Metropolitan will be 35 treasures from the collection that are rarely lent, and most have not been seen previously in New York. Included in the exhibition will be the Carolingian ivory cover of the Lorsch Gospels, an ivory statuette of the crucified Christ by Giovanni Pisano, Donatello's bronze Putto with Fish, and a pair of gilt-bronze statuettes of prophets by Hubert Gerhard.
The exhibition is made possible by The David Berg Foundation.
Accompanied by a publication.

Photographic Treasures of the Metropolitan, Featuring the Gilman Collection
June 3–September 1, 2008

The exhibition features masterpieces by 13 of photography's greatest artists: William Henry Fox Talbot, Roger Fenton, Julia Margaret Cameron, Carleton Watkins, Gustave Le Gray, Nadar, Edouard Baldus, Charles Marville, Eugène Atget, Walker Evans, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Man Ray, and Brassaï. The exhibition will illuminate the ways that the Met's recent acquisition of the Gilman Collection dovetails with its previous holdings to give great strength to the Museum's collection of many of the most important masters of photography's first century.

J. M. W. Turner
July 1–September 21, 2008

The first retrospective of the work of J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851) presented in the United States in over 40 years, this exhibition will highlight approximately 140 paintings and watercolors—more than half of them from Tate Britain's Turner Bequest—along with works from other collections in Europe and North America. The artist's extensive iconographic range will be represented, from seascapes and topographical views to historical subjects and scenes from his imagination.
Bank of America is proud to be the national sponsor.
Additional support is generously provided by Access Industries.
The exhibition is also made possible in part by the Gail and Parker Gilbert Fund
and The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation.
It was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and the Dallas Museum of Art, in association with Tate Britain, London. The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
Accompanied by a publication.

Art of the Royal Court: Treasures in Pietre Dure from the Palaces of Europe
July 1–September 21, 2008

This will be the most comprehensive exhibition on the tradition of hardstone carving (pietre dure) that developed in Italy in the 16th century and subsequently spread through Europe. Roman masters cut colored marbles and laid them in geometrically patterned tabletops, such as the celebrated Farnese Table in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, while Milanese artisans preferred to incise designs in rock crystal, lapis lazuli, and other precious materials. In Florence, the passion of the Medici for importing precious stones led to Ferdinando I de' Medici's founding of the court workshops that still survive as the Opificio delle Pietre Dure. Royal patronage encouraged Florentine craftsmen to migrate to Prague, and their practices gradually spread to such centers as Augsburg, Paris, Madrid, and St. Petersburg. Some 170 tables, cabinets, caskets, jewelry, vases, and sculpture will represent the range of this brilliant art form of the courts of Europe through four centuries.
Accompanied by a catalogue.

Hidden in Plain Sight: Contemporary Photographs from the Collection
Through September 3, 2007

This exhibition brings together the work of 18 contemporary artists who use the camera to call our attention to the poetic richness latent in ordinary things. Often deliberately understated in style, these photographs are filled with everyday epiphanies. They capture the unexpected beauty of found still lifes and modest interventions in the landscape, inviting us to look more closely at the world around us. The exhibition features 36 works by American and international artists, including Gabriel Orozco, Walker Evans, Stephen Shore, Rachel Harrison, Jean-Marc Bustamante, Damián Ortega, Carrie Mae Weems, Bertien van Manen, and others.

The Armored Horse in Europe, 1480–1620
Through September 3, 2007

The horse was an integral part of medieval and Renaissance culture, not only as a beast of burden but also as a sign of rank and status. For the nobility, equitation was an essential skill, both socially and militarily. Horses played a pivotal role in warfare and often wore armor as elaborate and expensive as that of their riders. Drawing exclusively from items in the reserve collection, many of them unpublished and rarely seen before, this exhibition examines various types of European horse armor in terms of style, construction, and decoration.
Accompanied by a catalogue.

Neo Rauch at the Met: para
Through October 14, 2007

On view are 14 new paintings made specifically for this exhibition by the Leipzig artist Neo Rauch (b. 1960), one of the most widely acclaimed painters of his generation. Shaped by the experience of growing up in East Germany, Rauch's paintings teeter between Surrealism and popular imagery and defy easy interpretation. Viewers are drawn into scenes replete with strange beings and ambiguous landscapes. With a distinctive palette of bright acidic colors contrasting with deep shadows, the artist's paintings conjure up an atmosphere of confused nostalgia and failed utopias. This showing is the third in a new series dedicated to artists at midcareer that featured Tony Oursler in 2005 and Kara Walker in 2006.

Frank Stella on the Roof
Through October 28, 2007 (weather permitting)

The spectacular Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden features an installation of large recent works in stainless steel and carbon fiber by the prolific American artist Frank Stella (b. 1936). Since his first showings in New York in the late 1950s, Stella has occupied a prominent place among leading artists and has continued to expand the boundaries of what abstract painting and sculpture can be. This exhibition, in tandem with Frank Stella: Painting into Architecture, which was on view from May 1 through July 29, marks the artist's first solo presentation at the Metropolitan. Set in the most dramatic outdoor space for sculpture in New York City, the Roof Garden offers sweeping views of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline.
The exhibition is made possible by Bloomberg.
Additional support is provided by Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon B. Polsky.

Incisive Images: Ivory and Boxwood Carvings, 1450–1800
Through November 25, 2007

Small in scale but grand in impact, ivory sculpture starred in private collections throughout the Renaissance and Baroque, particularly in the courts of central Europe, where the art form reached its apogee. The fine grain and lustrous texture of this exotic material enabled virtuoso carvers to extract maximum expression within the compact format that was prized for the intimate spaces of collectors' cabinets and church treasuries. The exhibition of nearly 100 works formed in ivory—and the equally fine-grained boxwood—includes works largely drawn from the Museum's permanent collection, featuring freestanding sculptures and reliefs as well as intricately carved armaments and a few lavish furnishings.
The exhibition is made possible by The David Berg Foundation.

Coaxing the Spirits to Dance: Art of the Papuan Gulf
Through December 2, 2007

The powerful and graphically elaborate sculpture from the Papuan Gulf area of the island of New Guinea is presented in a context that demonstrates how deeply embedded art was in the region's social life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The exhibition presents traditional sculptures in the form of masks, figures, and spirit boards that both represented and became the embodiment of supernatural beings that were placated, cajoled, and coaxed to attend to human needs. The exhibition focuses on these sacred objects and the contexts in which they were presented. The juxtaposition of 19th- and 20th-century photographs with the stylistically inventive sculptures—many specifically identifiable in the photographs—presents the cultural contexts of the objects and facilitates the presentation of culturally specific ideas while creating a visual biography of the works. Additionally, the images demonstrate how early visitors used photography to record their activities, as well as to visualize and represent the art and cultural practice integral to the well-being of the communities. The selection of rare historical photographs—some exhibited for the first time—taken by early travelers to the Papuan Gulf is drawn from The Photograph Study Collection of the Metropolitan Museum's Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas.
The exhibition is made possible by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.
It was organized by the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, in collaboration with
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Accompanied by a catalogue.

New Classical Galleries in the American Wing
Opened January 16, 2007

A major reordering and upgrading of the American Wing galleries and period rooms has begun and is scheduled for completion in 2010. The Wing will remain open, in part, throughout the three-phase project. In Phase I, newly renovated first-floor galleries incorporating Greek Revival architectural elements link the Federal-style period rooms of the original 1924 building with the later 19th-century rooms in the 1980 addition. Throughout the ongoing renovation work, the 19th-century period rooms and decorative arts galleries on the first floor, the Luce Center on the mezzanine level, and the American paintings galleries on the second floor of the American Wing will remain open from September through December 2007.

New Greek and Roman Galleries
Opened April 20, 2007

The opening of this majestic, new complex of Hellenistic, Etruscan, and Roman galleries—an entire wing housing over 5,300 objects in more than 30,000 square feet—completes the reconstruction and reinstallation of the permanent galleries of Greek and Roman art. The galleries present Hellenistic art and its legacy alongside those of Southern Italy and Etruria, forming the background to the story of Rome from the Late Republican period and the Golden Age of Augustus's Principate to the conversion of Constantine the Great in A.D. 312. The centerpiece of the new installation is the Leon Levy and Shelby White Court, a dramatic, skylit space that links the various galleries and themes. These include displays of the art of Magna Graecia and the world of the Etruscans, together with the stunning collection of Roman wall paintings that is unrivaled outside of Italy. The presentation of the art of the Late Hellenistic and Early Imperial periods is crowned by the newly reconstructed Cubiculum from the villa at Boscoreale near Pompeii and the Black Bedroom from Boscotrecase. In addition, on the mezzanine floor overlooking Fifth Avenue, there is a large display covering the entire cultural and chronological span of the department's rich collection.
Accompanied by a publication.

The Campin Room at The Cloisters, Fort Tryon Park
Opened June 29, 2007

The Campin Room at The Cloisters recently reopened to the public following an extensive renovation. The gallery houses Robert Campin's Annunciation Triptych (known as the Merode Triptych), which has been one of the masterworks at The Cloisters for nearly half a century. The new installation highlights the phenomenon of late medieval private devotion. Two new wall cases allow the exhibition of devotional objects formerly seen in the Treasury, and two important 15th-century stained-glass panels—one representing Christ as the Man of Sorrows, the other the Virgin as the Mater Dolorosa—have been installed in the central windows. Acquired in 1998, these panels are on view at The Cloisters for the first time. New, more discreet lighting has been installed and the gallery walls have been re-plastered to match the original color.
Made possible in part by the generous support of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.

Joyce and Robert Menschel Hall for Modern Photography
Opening September 25, 2007

The Joyce and Robert Menschel Hall for Modern Photography is the Metropolitan's first gallery designed specifically for and devoted exclusively to the display of photographs created since 1960. Situated adjacent to the special exhibition galleries for drawings, prints, and photographs and the portion of the Robert Wood Johnson, Jr. Gallery where the earlier history of photography is displayed, the Menschel Hall allows the Department of Photographs to show its contemporary holdings within the broader context of photographic traditions and in an exhibition space with appropriate scale and detail. Installations, which will change every six months, will be drawn from the department's growing permanent collection. The inaugural installation, Depth of Field: Modern Photography at the Metropolitan, continues through March 23, 2008, and traces the medium's varied paths from its role in conceptual, earth, and performance art of the 1960s to a central place in today's contemporary art scene.
Included are works by Bernd and Hilla Becher, Rodney Graham, Sharon Lockhart, Sigmar Polke, Thomas Ruff, Cindy Sherman, Thomas Struth, and Wolfgang Tillmans, among others.

Press preview: Monday, September 24, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Reopening of The Wrightsman Galleries for French Decorative Arts
Opening October 30, 2007

The Wrightsman Galleries for French decorative arts are undergoing extensive renovations to improve climate control, introduce new lighting and fire suppression systems, and incorporate numerous decorative changes. The new lighting in particular will greatly enhance the revised presentation of the Museum's renowned collection of French furniture and related decorative arts. A large group of objects has received conservation treatment, and several pieces of seat furniture have been reupholstered with modern re-creations of the original show covers. The galleries will also include important works previously not on view, such as a mid-17th-century carved ebony cabinet on a stand and a late-18th-century carved and gilded state bed. Press preview: Monday, October 29, 10:00 a.m.–noon

New Galleries for Oceanic Art
Opening November 14, 2007

The Pacific encompasses more than a thousand distinct cultures and hundreds of artistic traditions in an area that covers about one-third of the earth's surface. The Museum's new permanent galleries for Oceanic art, completely redesigned and reinstalled, will present a substantially larger portion of the Museum's Pacific holdings than was previously on view. Featuring renowned masterworks from the Metropolitan's Oceanic collection as well as recent acquisitions, the installation will display sculpture and decorative arts from the regions of Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Australia. The displays also feature the Museum's first gallery devoted to the arts of the indigenous peoples of Island Southeast Asia.
Accompanied by a publication.
Press preview: Tuesday, November 13, 10:00 a.m.–noon

New Gallery for the Art of Native North America
Opening November 14, 2007

The Museum's renovated gallery devoted to Native North American art will display approximately 90 works made by numerous American peoples. Ranging from the beautifully shaped stone tools known as bannerstones of several millennia B.C. to a mid-1970s tobacco bag, the objects illustrate a wide variety of cultural background, artistic style, and functional purpose, all qualities inherent in the art of the peoples of the large North American continent. Works include wood sculpture from the Northwest Coast of North America, ivory carvings from the Arctic, wearing blankets from the Southwest, and objects of hide from the Great Plains. Anchored by the Metropolitan's American Indian holdings drawn from the Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, the installation is augmented by loans from the well-known private collections of Ralph T. Coe of Santa Fe and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Diker of New York. Press preview: Tuesday, November 13, 10:00 a.m.–noon

The Nineteenth-Century European Paintings and Sculpture Galleries will reopen with renovated rooms and 8,000 square feet of additional gallery space—the H. J. Heinz II Galleries—to showcase works from 1800 through the early 20th century. The renovated galleries will feature all of the Museum's most loved 19th-century paintings, which have been on permanent display in the past, as well as works by Bonnard and Vuillard, Modigliani and Soutine, Matisse and Picasso, and other early modern artists. Among the many additions will be a full-room assembly of "The Wisteria Dining Room," a French art nouveau interior designed by Lucien Lévy Dhurmer shortly before World War I that is the only complete example of its kind in the United States; Henry Lerolle's enormous The Organ Rehearsal (a church interior of 1885); a group of newly accessioned 19th-century landscape oil sketches; and a selection of rarely exhibited paintings by an international group of artists.
Accompanied by a publication.
Press preview: Monday, December 3, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Drawings and Prints from Holland's Golden Age: Highlights from the Collection
September 18, 2007–January 6, 2008

On display is a selection of drawings and prints from the Museum's collection by artists active in Holland during the 17th century, including masterworks by Rembrandt, Adriaen van Ostade, Willem Buytewech, Jacques de Gheyn, Albert Cuyp, and Jacob van Ruisdael.

Depth of Field: Modern Photography at the Metropolitan
September 25, 2007–March 23, 2008

This inaugural installation in the Joyce and Robert Menschel Hall for Modern Photography—the Metropolitan's first gallery designed specifically for and devoted exclusively to the display of photographs created since 1960—draws from the Museum's growing collection of contemporary photographs to trace the medium's varied paths from its role in conceptual, earth, and performance art of the 1960s to a central place in today's contemporary art scene. Included are works by Bernd and Hilla Becher, Rodney Graham, Sharon Lockhart, Sigmar Polke, Thomas Ruff, Cindy Sherman, Thomas Struth, and Wolfgang Tillmans, among others. Press preview: Monday, September 24, 10:00 a.m.–noon

Rumi and the Sufi Tradition
October 23, 2007–February 3, 2008

The mystic writings of the Persian poet known as Rumi (1207–1273) are generally considered to be the supreme expression of Sufism, the mystical trend in Islamic thought and culture. Rumi and the Sufi Tradition coincides with the 800th anniversary of the poet-philosopher's birth. On view will be nearly three dozen works from the Museum's Islamic art collection—including miniature paintings, Islamic calligraphy, ceramics, metalwork, glass, and textiles created between 13th and the 19th centuries—that evoke the world in which he lived and suggest the scope of his enduring legacy.

Abstract Expressionist Drawings
November 1, 2007–February 2008

This small installation of drawings from the Museum's permanent collection, including several new acquisitions, features works from the 1940s, '50s, and '60s by such notable Abstract Expressionists as Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, and David Smith, among others. The works exemplify that movement's identification with gestural line and innovative experimentation with materials and techniques.

Asian Lacquer: Masterpieces from the Florence and Herbert Irving Collection
November 3, 2007–May 11, 2008

Lacquer, a sap that is a natural plastic, has served as an artistic medium in China, Korea, and Japan for millennia. Lacquer is used for painting and is combined with gold, mother-of-pearl, and other materials. In addition, layers of lacquer can be carved to create wondrous patterns or engaging figural scenes. Ranging in size from small boxes for incense to larger containers for sake, and in date from the 14th to the 19th century, the exquisite works in this exhibition also have cultural significance. Some are associated with the art of writing. Others illustrate themes important in the history and literature of East Asia.

Tibetan Arms and Armor from the Permanent Collection
December 14, 2007–fall 2009

This installation presents approximately 40 highlights from the Museum's extensive permanent collection of rare and exquisitely decorated armor, weapons, and equestrian equipment from Tibet and related areas of Mongolia and China, dating from the 15th to the 20th century. Included are several recent acquisitions that have never before been exhibited or published.

The Art of Time: European Clocks and Watches from the Collection
December 18, 2007–April 27, 2008

The exhibition draws upon the Metropolitan Museum's extensive holdings of English, Dutch, French, German, and Swiss horology, ranging in date from the 16th through the 18th century. Acquired primarily as decorative objects or as a specialized variety of furniture, some of these clocks and watches are equally important in illustrating technical developments in European clock making. While a few have never been exhibited previously and many have not been seen for more than a decade, some will be familiar from their inclusion in the galleries of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts but are shown in a new—and sometimes surprising—context. The exhibition is made possible by The David Berg Foundation. In the Light of Poussin: The Classical Landscape Tradition
January 8–April 13, 2008

Complementing the exhibition Poussin and Nature opening February 12, 2008, this selection of drawings and prints from the Museum's collection will include works by Poussin's French, Italian, and Northern contemporaries as well as by later artists influenced by his conception of landscape. Examples will range from plein air studies to poetic evocations of pastoral scenes to highly structured settings for classical subjects. A section of the installation will be devoted to the neoclassical period, which saw a revival of interest in the classical landscapes of Poussin and his contemporaries.

Beauty and Learning: Korean Painted Screens
March 11–June 1, 2008

Painted screens depicting an array of books, scholarly accoutrements, and auspicious objects first gained popularity in Korea during the reign of King Chŏngjo (1776–1800). Initially made for the royal court, these screens came to decorate the homes of elite scholars and eventually ordinary households. This small installation presents four screens dating from the late 19th to the early 20th century, drawn from American collections, including one screen from the Museum. It is the first exhibition in the United States to focus on this important and visually arresting genre of Korean painting.
This exhibition is made possible by The Kun-Hee Lee Fund for Korean Art.

Made in Germany
Through October 21, 2007

The drawings and watercolors assembled in Made in Germany span the years after World War I to the early 1980s and focus on the human figure and face in widely different interpretations. Among the works featured are Otto Dix's knife-sharp image of his first love, Marga Kummer; Ludwig Meidner's loosely expressionistic bust of a moody young girl; Paul Klee's black-outlined girl in mourning; and Anselm Kiefer's disembodied and bleeding head of a woman evoking the battlefields of World War II. Made in Germany also includes works on paper by Georg Kolbe, Karl Hubbuch, Hanna Nagel, Emil Nolde, Sigmar Polke, Jörg Immendorf, A. R. Penck, and George Baselitz.

Excellence and Elegance: Decorative Arts of the Eighteenth-Century Qing Court
Through November 25, 2007

Drawn from the permanent collection and complemented by select loans, this exhibition features a remarkable assemblage of porcelain, metalwork, jade, lacquer, and textiles that represent an unprecedented height of technical virtuosity and artistic richness in Chinese history. These refined works illustrate the imperial taste for ancient themes, interest in Western motifs, and exacting patronage that contributed to the flourishing of decorative arts. The exhibition is made possible by The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Foundation.

One of a Kind: The Studio Craft Movement
Through December 2, 2007

The studio craft movement developed in the United States during the post–World War II years. By the 1970s in both Europe and the United States, a shifting political climate and an "anything goes" art scene encouraged a new freedom in artistic expression. Artists working with traditional materials began to experiment with new materials and techniques, producing bold, abstract, and sculptural art. This exhibition of approximately 50 works from the Metropolitan's collection includes furniture, ceramics, glass, metalwork, jewelry, and fiber.

PLEASE NOTE: These exhibitions originate at The Metropolitan Museum of Art with works of art from the Museum's collections selected and organized by Museum staff members. Please confirm the opening and closing dates with the local exhibiting museums as they may be subject to change.

The Masterpieces of French Painting from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1800–1920

A selection of 135 masterpieces from the Metropolitan Museum's treasured collection of French painting—including works by Bonnard, Cézanne, Corot, Courbet, Degas, Van Gogh, Ingres, Manet, Matisse, Monet, Picasso, and Renoir—has been lent exclusively to the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston and the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin while the Met's galleries undergo renovation. The Berlin venue also features 15 French sculptures, including 9 works by Rodin. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston February 4–May 6, 2007
The Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin June 1–October 7, 2007

The Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

This selection of 50 works from The Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Collection, given to the Museum in 2002, focuses on the highlights of the personal collection of Pierre Matisse, the brilliant and prescient New York art dealer and younger son of Henri Matisse. In addition to 24 works by Henri Matisse in all media, the exhibition includes works by those artists whose careers Pierre Matisse launched in New York, among them Balthus, Dubuffet, Giacometti, and Miró.
Museo Picasso Málaga, Spain March 26–September 9, 2007

Cast Images: American Bronze Sculpture from The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The centuries-old tradition of casting bronze into sculptural form reached the United States by 1850, realizing its apogee in the early decades of the 20th century. Sculptors such as Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Frederick MacMonnies, and Frederic Remington were innovators in this medium; by mastering a vital French-based naturalism and choosing modern subjects, they popularized the American bronze as a fine collectible object. A selection of 45 statuettes and portrait busts from the Metropolitan's unparalleled collection traces the historical development of the small American bronze from technical, aesthetic, and thematic standpoints.
New York State Museum, Albany October 20, 2007–February 24, 2008

MAIN BUILDING HOURS

Fridays and Saturdays 9:30 a.m.–9:00 p.m.
Sundays, Tuesdays–Thursdays 9:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Met Holiday Mondays in the Main Building 9:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Sponsored by Bloomberg
September 3, October 8, December 24,
December 31, 2007
All other Mondays Closed
January 1, Thanksgiving, and December 25 Closed

THE CLOISTERS HOURS

March–October:

Tuesdays–Sundays 9:30 a.m.–5:15 p.m.

Mondays Closed

November–February:

Tuesdays–Sundays 9:30 a.m.–4:45 p.m.
Mondays Closed

SUGGESTED ADMISSION (INCLUDES MAIN BUILDING AND THE CLOISTERS ON THE SAME DAY)

Adults $20.00
Seniors (65 and over) $15.00
Students $10.00
Members and children under 12
accompanied by adult Free

Advance tickets available at www.TicketWeb.com or 1-800-965-4827
For more information (212) 535-7710; www.metmuseum.org

No extra charge for any exhibition